


Die if you believe your eyes

by ToshiChan



Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Angst, Dark Magic, Family Feels, Gen, Healing, Hurt/Comfort, Illusions, Louie needs glasses, Non-Graphic Violence, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Suicidal Thoughts, Trauma, found family trope
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-18
Updated: 2018-11-26
Packaged: 2019-08-25 10:36:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16659595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToshiChan/pseuds/ToshiChan
Summary: Nothing here is as it seems;Dreams are truths and truths are dreamsClose your ears to loved ones’ criesDie if you believe your eyes.





	1. The Mountain

**Author's Note:**

> This is a monster of a fic that was meant to be a 5000 word one-shot, so I've split it into two parts. I was inspired by a dream I had, which is why there are some little bits that seem out of place. They were in the dream so I fit them in here.
> 
> Title and poem summary are taken from Rowan of Rin by Emily Rodda. She always writes really cool cryptic poems. 
> 
> As always, Huey, Dewey and Louie are written from my perspective as having Autsim, ADHD and depression respectively. Less present in this are my LGBT+ headcannons but they're still at the back of my mind. You can check out my other fics if you wanna see more stuff explaining that

Dewey burst into Uncle Scrooge’s study with all the enthusiasm a thirteen-year-old duck such as Dewey could muster. Which was to say, a lot. The door slammed painfully against the wall and at his desk, Scrooge winced. It may have been a regular occurrence in the mansion but he didn’t like the door knob shaped dent that the constant slamming had formed.

“What is it, lad?” Scrooge looked up from the letter he’d been reading. It was cause for concern but he wasn’t going to let it ruffle him outwardly.

“It’s Saturday.” Dewey bounced up and down.

Scrooge sighed. Of course it was. He’d promised the boys a year ago that Saturdays could be their designated adventure day. They’d stuck to this promise minus a few times where adventure arose before a Saturday and for the most part, everyone was happy with the agreement. Huey liked having a schedule to follow. Dewey and Webby just liked going on adventures and Louie enjoyed not having to adventure all the time. Donald still got worried about the kids, but the worry was fading as they proved time and time again that they could be trusted.

“Do you have an adventure for us?” Dewey spoke again.

Scrooge looked back down at the letter. “Maybe.”

“What is it?” Dewey bounded closer.

“An old friend of mine sent me an invitation to his new house.” Scrooge explained.

“Is this a real old friend or an arch enemy who wants to destroy your fortune and kill you?” Dewey questioned.

“The later.” Scrooge frowned. He did have an awful lot of arch enemies who wanted to do exactly what Dewey said they wanted to do.

“Why would it be an adventure?” Dewey asked. “It’s clearly a trap. You should just ignore him and we could go scuba diving instead.”

“He’s not just a danger to me.” Scrooge explained. “He is a very powerful creature and for a long time, the world had no choice but to bow to his whims. He was captured eventually, by me, but it looks like he’s escaped and looking for revenge.”

“So, you want to go and arrest him again?”

“Exactly. Who knows what kind of trouble he could bring about this time if we let him run around unchecked.”

“Taking down an evil villain sounds like an adventure.” Dewey sounded keen now which was…not good.

“First off, calling him an evil villain is a wee bit redundant. Secondly, I don’t think I want to bring you kids with me. Did you miss the part where I called him a danger to the world?”

“Not at all.” Dewey said cheerfully. Of course he didn’t. He never missed the parts that sounded interesting. “Come on, Uncle Scrooge. It’s Saturday and you promised. You can’t break your promise now. We could be really helpful! Fives heads are better than one old one.”

“Watch who you’re calling old.” Scrooge said absently. It was more of a formality than anything. He was more interested in reading the letter once more.

_ Dear Scrooge _

_ I’ve recently found myself acquiring a new abode to dwell in and thought it was time we once more met up. We are long overdue a meeting and it would be delightful to have you come visit. I have learnt a few new tricks since we last met which I think will be of great interest to you. _

_ My new address is the very peak of The Mountain. _

_ Dying to see you. _

_ Anonymous _

“I guess I owe it to the world to keep him off the streets, so to speak.” Scrooge mused.

“Yeah!” Dewey cheered. As far as he was concerned, that was all the confirmation he needed. “I’ll go tell Huey, Louie and Webby!”

Scrooge watched him run off and sighed once more. Every bone in his body was telling him this wasn’t a good idea, but he was losing the ability to deny his dear nephews and adopted- niece almost anything. Fun as it sounded to them, this was going to be extremely dangerous.

He probably shouldn’t tell Donald then.

* * *

Huey frowned over his nearly assembled adventuring pack while Dewey paced back and forth in excitement.

“So why are we going exactly? This guy sounds dangerous.”

“Because it’s Saturday.” Dewey countered.

“I’d rather stay home and be safe than have to abide by a promise we made and die because of it.” Louie drawled. He was lying on his bed, making no effort to get ready. It came across as laziness, but his two older brothers knew Louie was nervous.

Huey turned to comfort the youngest and found his frown deepening. “Where are your glasses?”

Louie had recently visited an optometrist after a series of clumsy accidents on adventures and it turned out he was incredibly blind. He had to wear his glasses constantly and was banned from adventures unless he was wearing them.

“Guess I lost them. Can’t come now.” Louie said casually.

“I’ve got them!” Webby appeared out of the air vents. All three boys were secretly pleased that they didn’t even flinch at her sudden appearance.

“Why were they up there?” Huey fixed Louie with a disapproving look.

“I didn’t want to go, alright! This sounds way too dangerous! Uncle Scrooge said this guy had the whole world at his mercy. Does that sound like the kind of person you want to meet?”

“Yeah!” Dewey and Webby chimed.

“Probably not.” Huey admitted. “I am a little unsure about this. But we have to help Uncle Scrooge. And, it’s adventure day.” He shifted nervously as he said this.

For Huey, adventure day was part of a schedule that he hated to see broken. Not going on an adventure would leave him feeling like something was wrong for the rest of the day. He needed this.

Louie grumbled under his breath, but he reached out and took the glasses from Webby. “Fine, let’s go.”

“I’ll go get my stuff.” Webby shot back up into the vents. “This is going to be awesome!”

“I’ll be the judge of that.” Louie muttered.

Huey slung his now assembled pack over his shoulders and adjusted his hat. “Uncle Scrooge beat this guy once, he can do it again.”

“And this time he has us.” Dewey pointed out.

Louie blinked from behind his glasses. “We’re thirteen-year-old kids.”

“With lots of adventuring experience.” Dewey countered.

“Let’s go.” Huey headed for the door.

“Is Uncle Donald coming?” Louie asked as he and Dewey followed their older brother.

“Nah.”

Uncle Scrooge was waiting by the front door. Dewey started to bounce up and down in excitement. Louie pretended to be focused on cleaning his glasses and Huey double checked his pack.

This really wasn’t going to be a typical adventure.

* * *

“So, where are we going?” Webby asked Scrooge as Launchpad flew the Sun Chaser with all his skill, which was to say, not much.

“The Mountain.” Scrooge answered shortly.

“We already went to Mount Neverrest.” Louie yawned. “Boring.”

“The Mountain and Mount Neverrest are two completely different things, laddie.” Scrooge sounded offended at the mere thought of someone not knowing their geography. “The Mountain was named by a colony of people who lived at its base three thousand years ago. They never left the valley, so they thought the mountain was the only mountain to exist. Therefore, they named it The Mountain.

“Sounds dumb.” Louie raised an eyebrow.

“The Mountain isn’t as dangerous as Mount Neverrest, of course. But it does make for a good evil lair if freezing winds and icy solitude tickles your fancy.” Scrooge leant back in his seat. “Landing at the top is impossible so we’ll have to climb.”

“How tall is it?” Huey wanted to know.

“Tall enough.” Scrooge chuckled. “We can probably get to the top in one day if we’re fast.”

“Fast is my middle name.” Dewey boasted.

“Did you bring enough climbing materials?” Huey fretted.

“Calm yourself, laddie. Of course I did. I’m Scrooge McDuck. You’ll never catch me unprepared for anything.”

“Are we there yet?” Louie asked, just because he could.

Wisely, Scrooge decided to ignore him.

“Tell us about this evil guy.” Dewey asked eagerly.

This made Scrooge pause. All four kids were looking up at him eagerly (even Louie) but Scrooge didn’t know the best way to explain this person.

“His name is Anonymous.” He said finally. “He had magic that let him control another person’s will. It turned out his source of magic was an amulet. I managed to break it and he lost the power. His letter to me said he’d come up with something new. That’s why I cannot let him stay free.”

“He could control you?” Huey shivered. “I can’t think of anything worse.”

“Aye.” Scrooge agreed. “It was not a nice feeling.”

Webby gasped. “He did it to you?”

“Briefly.” Scrooge resisted the urge to shiver. “But I managed to break free.”

“How?” Huey asked.

“I don’t know how.” Scrooge admitted. “I just did.”

The plane suddenly jolted violently. The four kids stumbled back and forth, trying to keep their balance. Scrooge gripped the armrests on his seat a little tighter.

“We’re here!” Launchpad announced cheerfully.

Scrooge checked his pocket watch. “Right on time.”

The kids scrambled to the front of the plane to start out the window. Looming above them was a mountain. The bottom was made up of a lush green forest while the very peak was stony and covered in snow.

“Fascinating.” Huey pulled out a notebook to make a note. “Two different kinds of terrain.”

“So he lives at the top?” Louie asked. “Wonderful. Just what my feet wanted.”

“Race you to the top.” Dewey challenged Webby.

“You’re on.”

“No.” Scrooge silenced them with a single word. “We stick together.”

“Why?”

“If Anonymous has claimed this mountain as his own, then danger could lurk anywhere.” Scrooge gripped his cane. “We stay close, or else.”

The teens fell silent. They didn’t want to think about what that meant.

* * *

Despite Louie’s grumbling, the first part of the walk was quite easy. It was as simple as walking through a forest with a slight incline. Dappled sunlight filtered through the tree branches and a chorus of birds kept a melodic tune going. Bright flowers fringed the path Scrooge had picked out for them to follow.

“It’s lovely.” Webby exclaimed.

Scrooge frowned. “Too lovely.”

“You think Anonymous knows we’re here?” Huey scanned the surrounding brush.

“Without a doubt.” Scrooge narrowed his eyes.

“What do you think his new power is?” Louie asked nervously.

“Nothing good.”

“If he lives at the top of the mountain then he isn’t going to be down here.” Dewey complained. “Let’s just hurry up and get to him.”

“No one in their right mind should ever be in a hurry to get to Anonymous.” Scrooge flicked Dewey lightly. “Be smart, lad. We have no idea what we’re going up against.”

“What if he can control animals and he has an army of evil tigers?! OH! What if he can control plants and these trees come alive and strangle us. What if he worked out how to make black holes and sucks us into one.” Dewey babbled.

“None of these sound like anything remotely worth being that excited over.” Louie said dryly.

“It’s a totally new thing! Of course it’s exciting.” Dewey retorted. “Right, Huey?”

“I do like new things.” Huey admitted. “But not new things that want to kill us.”

“Keep your voices down.” Scrooge hissed.

“Why? You said he already knows we’re here?” Dewey pointed out.

“Because noise attracts things, and if he does have some sort of evil creature lurking on the mountain, I’d rather we ran into it later rather than sooner.” Scrooge snapped.

Even the thought of a large snarling beast leaping from the forest with no warnings of it doing such was enough to shut Dewey up. They continued in silence for the rest of their walk through the forest and only broke it when the trees became less thick and snow started to appear in heaps on the ground.

“We’re getting closer.” Scrooge poked at the snow with his cane. “Anonymous has had time to observe us. If he was going to strike anytime, it would be now.”

“And with that cheerful thought, why don’t I go wait with Launchpad in the plane.” Louie turned to go. Webby pulled him back.

“We’ll keep you safe.” She promised in a low voice.

Louie shot her a weak smile. “Thanks.”

Scrooge produced climbing poles and rope for an easier climb and they set out once more, braving the cold wind and slippery snow. Halfway to the top, just when it seemed like things were going fine, it began to snow. It was only a light scattering at first but it soon picked up.

“I can barely see anything.” Dewey complained.

“Welcome to my world.” Louie muttered.

“Can you hear that?” Webby asked.

“Hear what?” The three boys said together.

“That…” Webby replied vaguely. They all fell quiet, just listening. Even Scrooge paused and joined in, head cocked at an angle as if that would help him hear better.

“I can’t hear anything.” Huey said finally.

“It’s probably just the wind or something.” Dewey suggested.

“Or your imagination.” Louie offered.

“Yeah…” Webby looked behind her. “Maybe.”

None of them knew it at the time but that was the beginning of the end.

* * *

Nobody else seemed to know what Webby was talking about but she was certain she’d heard something. She couldn’t describe what it was, just that it was a low and sorrowful sound. She tried to ignore it, dismissing it like they had done, but it only seemed to get louder. As they continued to walk, it started to take shape in her mind. It wasn’t just a sound.

It was someone crying.

Webby shivered and she knew it wasn’t from the cold. Someone was on the mountain, trapped and afraid. Someone was up there with them and the others were just ignoring it. They’d lied to her! They didn’t want to abandon the adventure to help someone, so they were pretending Webby was just crazy. How could they? She trusted them!

_ “Help me. I’m so alone. Help me!” _

It was a voice now, with real words and real fears. Webby clenched her feathers into a fist. They were in trouble! And who was she to deny someone help? She was Webby, bold adventurer and Scrooge McDuck’s adopted niece. She was never afraid. She laughed in the face of danger. She was strong and clever and no matter what, she helped people.

“Webby.” Dewey’s voice interrupted her train of thought. “You’re falling behind. Keep up.”

“Huh?” Webby frowned. She’d been so lost in her thoughts that she’d stopped walking. Uncle Scrooge, Huey and Louie were a little bit ahead and it appeared that Dewey had paused to wait for her. “Sorry. It’s just…you really can’t hear that woman?”

“Huh?”

“She’s crying. She’s lost and afraid and she needs our help.” Webby insisted. “Why can’t you hear her?”

“I can only hear you. You and the wind.” Dewey shrugged.

“But she’s out there!”

“I can’t hear anything!”

“Then you’re going deaf!” Webby yelled.  “Or maybe you just don’t want to hear it. Because there is someone out there! She needs our help and I’m going to find her!”

“Webby, wait!”

“No!”

Webby turned and ran in the direction the crying was coming from. She ran so fast that Dewey was left behind, his cries fading until she couldn’t hear them anymore. All she could hear was the woman and her pleads for help. She ran in one direction, but then it sounded as though the crying was coming from a different one. She turned that way, and it changed again. Then again, and again.

Suddenly it was all around her. She couldn’t even hear the wind anymore. All Webby could hear was the crying woman.

“Where are you?” She yelled. “I need to find you!”

_ “Help me. I’m so lost. Where am I?” _

“I don’t know where you are?” Webby could feel tears trickling down her cheeks, freezing as quickly as they fell.

_ “I don’t belong. I don’t belong here. Why don’t they like me? Why is it me against them?” _

What?

“What?”

_ “I want friends. Why don’t I have friends? I’m so alone. Help me!” _

“Who are you?” Webby fought desperately against the wind. “Why can’t I see you?”

_ “Why can’t you see me?” _

The snow storm stopped abruptly. In fact, it was like time itself had stopped. The delicate flakes hung in the air. It felt as though Webby could almost see the wind. Everything around her was white. She turned on the spot, looking for the crying lady.

In the corner of her eye, she saw it. The woman. She was older than Webby, but their hair was identical. Her eyes…they were Webby’s eyes. And her clothes…they were clothes Webby had dreamed of owning when she was older.

It was like staring into the future.

“It’s me?” Webby reached out for the woman, for her.

_ “It is.” _

“But…how?”

_ “Does it matter?” _

“Of course it matters.” Webby took a step forward.

_ “I’m so lonely. I’m on the outside. My friends don’t like me. They leave me.” _

“That’s not true!” Webby cried. Was she really looking into the future? Was this what it was going to be like for her, always alone?

_ “It’s always ‘the triplets and Webby’. How does that make you feel?” _

“That’s wrong.” The protest felt weak. It felt like Webby didn’t believe it herself.

_ “What about Lena?” _

Webby stumbled at the mention of  _ her  _ name. “Don’t.”

_ “Why not?” _

“She’s gone.”

_ “See? She left you.” _

“That’s not true. She died.”

_ “She couldn’t bear to be with you. With us.” _

“Stop.”

_ “I’m sorry. I can’t.” _

Time started up again and Webby screamed.

* * *

“Where’s Webby?” Huey turned to look back at Dewey who was running to catch up to them.

“She just ran off!” Dewey yelled. “She said she could hear someone crying for help and she ran away. She vanished into the snow.”

“What?” Louie’s eyes widened with fear. “You lost her?”

“She lost herself.” Dewey said weakly.

“I don’t like this.” Huey shuddered. “Anything could happen to her. Uncle Scrooge! Uncle Scrooge, Webby ran off!”

“What?” The older duck stopped walking and turned to face the triplets. “What do you mean the lass ran off?”

“She said she could hear someone crying so she ran to help them. But we couldn’t hear anything.” Dewey was close to tears. Huey wrapped a comforting arm around his younger brother. He’d seen how close Dewey and Webby had gotten. It must have been upsetting to see her vanish.

“This might be a trick of Anonymous. Stay close.” Uncle Scrooge urged the boys into a huddle.

“We have to find her.” Louie looked back behind him. “We can’t leave her out there.”

“And we won’t.” Uncle Scrooge promised. “Which way did she go, Dewey?”

“That way. Or was it that way?” Dewey pointed one way, then another.

Huey felt a bolt of fear pierce him. “You can’t remember.”

“Everything looks the same.” Dewey snapped defensively. “She was there one minute and gone the next. I was so scared, I didn’t have time to think. I just needed to get help.”

The words didn’t even reach Huey. Already his mind was conjuring up all the horrible things that could be happening to Webby while they stood around in the snow. They had each other but Webby was alone out there.

“Webby!” Huey yelled, pulling away from Uncle Scrooge. “Webby, where are you?! Webby follow my voice! Webby! WEBBY!”

“We can’t split up.” Uncle Scrooge grabbed at Huey. “Look what happened when we did.”

“We have to find her.” Huey repeated Louie’s words. “What if this has nothing to do with Anonymous? What if she’s just gotten lost and she falls off a cliff and dies? Or what if she freezes to death?”

“I won’t let that happen.” Uncle Scrooge was trying to be reassuring but suddenly, it was like Huey couldn’t trust him. Suddenly, it was like Huey didn’t know who he was at all.

“Who are you?”

“Are you mad, laddie. It’s me.”

“Anything could be out there.” Huey stumbled away. “Anything could be Anonymous. You could be Anonymous. He could have switched places with you.”

“Don’t be daft, laddie. I’m not Anonymous.” Uncle Scrooge reached for him.

“You can’t prove that.” Huey shook his head, trying to clear it. He felt so confused. Which way was up and which way was down?

“Huey, what’s wrong?” Louie took a shaky step forward.

“Something’s wrong.” Huey whispered.

“We know that. What is it?” Dewey begged. “Tell us!”

“Webby was right, someone’s out there. But we can’t help them. We have to help ourselves. Someone’s after us!” Huey yelled. “Something’s after us and it’s killed Webby. It lured her away from the group by pretending to need help. It’s a monster!”

“You’re wrong!” Dewey cried. “Webby’s not dead!”

“Stay away from me!” Huey backed away further. “It’s after me now. You’ll be safe if you stay away from me.”

“Huey, no.” Louie said frantically. “Come back. Something’s wrong with you. It’s Anonymous. It has to be!”

Huey took another step back, and then another.

“He’s here…” He mumbled. “He’s here and it’s here.”

“HUEY!”

Something growled behind him and Huey knew that he was right. He turned and he saw it. The monster. He’d been thinking about it this whole time and now it was here, as if it had just stepped out of his head. Its teeth dripped with saliva and its eyes glowed red. He couldn’t even begin to describe it past that. It was huge and shapeless and it wanted him.

“Run!” He yelled to his brothers. “I’ll lead it away!”

He darted one way, then the other, trying to confuse the beast. He ran and he ran but he could feel it, always chasing. The snow was deep and he sunk into it but still he pressed on.

Huey could feel its breath on the back of his neck and that’s when he knew it was pointless. He’d done what he could. He’d protected Dewey and Louie.

He stopped and waited to die.

* * *

“HUEY!” Dewey screamed. He lunged forward as his brother vanished into the snow and wind but Uncle Scrooge pulled him back. “Let me go! Let me go, I have to find him!”

“You can’t.” Uncle Scrooge pulled him close. “Louie needs you as well, laddie.”

This made Dewey pause. He turned to look at the youngest of them all. Louie was crying, glasses clutched in his hand as he rubbed at his face.

“I knew we shouldn’t have come here.” He sobbed. “First Webby, now Huey. We’re going to die out here.”

“We’re not.” Dewey gripped Louie’s shoulders, hard enough to bruise. Louie’s words were terrifying to even think about, so Dewey wasn’t going to. “We’re not going to die, Louie. I promise. I’ll keep you safe and so will Uncle Scrooge.”

“Anonymous is going to kill us.” Louie protested. “Why did we think we could fight him? We’re on his turf. He has all the cards and we have none. He once ruled the world! Do you know how big the world is? We’re just five ducks. We’re nothing to the world.”

“We’re not going to let him win.” Dewey said firmly. “We can’t. We’re going to find Webby and Huey and we’re going to beat Anonymous.”

“You can’t know that.” Louie insisted. Still, he put his glasses back on and blinked back his tears.

“Do you trust me, Louie?” Uncle Scrooge asked seriously.

It was a loaded question. Dewey knew he wouldn’t be able to answer it. Not right now, with his mum always on his mind. Uncle Scrooge hadn’t meant for her to run away into space, but he had built the rocket. He had handed her the keys to a car and she had taken them. The outcome had to be expected. And Uncle Scrooge had done it anyway.

“Yeah.” Louie answered.

“Good.” Uncle Scrooge stood up straighter. “Because I refuse for this to be the end.”

Dewey reached out and took Louie’s hand. “This way we can’t get separated.”

“We can’t if you let go.” Louie pointed out in a small voice.

“I’m not going to let go.” Dewey said. “I promise.”

He gave Louie the biggest smile he could and watched as his baby brother returned it with a weak one.

“We’re pushing on.” Uncle Scrooge brandished his cane. “Huey said this might not be Anonymous but I’m certain it is. If we find him, we find the others.”

Holding tight to Louie’s hand, Dewey walked on.

_ “Dewey?” _

Huh?

Dewey paused, craning his ears for the slightest noise.

“What’s wrong?” Louie asked anxiously.

“Nothing. Did you say my name?”

“No.”

“Did Uncle Scrooge?”

“No.”

“Huh.” Dewey frowned.

_ “Dewey. My dear boy.” _

There it was again!

He opened his beak to ask Louie if he’d heard anything before deciding against it. Webby had asked the same thing and then look what had happened. Dewey was probably just imagining things. He was just getting jumpy, that was all.

_ “Dewey, please. I never got the chance to see you before I left. Please. My son.” _

Son?

“Mum?”

“What?”

Dewey looked over and saw Louie staring at him. He looked scared.

“What?” Dewey asked.

“You said mum.” Louie said carefully.

“No, I didn’t.”

“Yes, you did.”

_ “Dewey. Dewey, please. Dewford!” _

That settled it in Dewey’s mind. Nobody knew that was his real name except Uncle Donald, his brothers and the one who had given it to him.

Della Duck.

His mother.

Dewey let go of Louie’s hand. He had to! Their mum was out there and she was calling for Dewey. She needed him, wanted him. He couldn’t just leave her out there. Somehow she’d fallen from the moon and now she was waiting. For Dewey.

He ignored Louie’s shouts for him to come back. He ignored everything except  _ her. _

_ “Dewey. Hurry up. I need to see you. My brave boy. You never gave up on me.” _

“I would never!” He called to her. “Where are you? Help me find you!”

And then there she was, standing in the snow, waiting for him. She looked just like the pictures he had of her. Dewey picked up the pace now. This felt almost too good to be true and oh how he hoped against all hopes that it wasn’t. It couldn’t be. He’d waited all this time and now she was here, alive and waiting.

She held out her hands and without even thinking, Dewey fell into them. Her grip was cold and he froze. He realised then, with a shiver of fear, that this wasn’t his mum.

* * *

Louie couldn’t help but let out an ear-piercing shriek when Dewey let go of his hand. He couldn’t do this. Dewey had promised to keep holding Louie and now he was gone, just like Huey and Webby before him. It was too much. It was all too much! Louie sunk to his knees. He was almost too numb to the feel the cold.

They never should have come. Why did no one ever listen to Louie? He’d known something was going to go wrong before they’d even left the house. One by one they’d all vanished into the snow, chasing something no one else could see. But something had to be out there. It was taking them.

Louie could barely breathe. His chest was tight and each intake of air was a struggle.

“Lad!” Uncle Scrooge sounded alarmed. “We can’t stay here. We have to keep moving!”

“Not without them.” Louie’s voice felt too loud in his ears. The cold was sinking in again and every gush of wind felt like a slap to his face. Everything was too bright, too white to handle.

He knew he was having a sensory overload. Huey had them a lot and he liked to recover by locking himself away in a dark room and listening to sounds he found calming. Louie couldn’t do that, though. He was stuck on an icy mountain, helpless to do anything but watch as his family disappeared around him.

“Come on Louie, get up.” Uncle Scrooge urged. “We can’t let Anonymous beat us. We have to outsmart him.”

“You do it!” Louie yelled. “I never wanted to come here. Why did you think we could handle this? Anonymous is too strong for us! Don’t you get it? He’s attacking you through us. We’re your weakness, Uncle Scrooge. He’s taking advantage of that.”

“No.”

“Yes!” Louie felt as though he was deafening himself with each word. “I’ll be next! He’ll come for me and then it will be over. Anonymous will win. Because you’ll give yourself up for us. Won’t you?”

Louie watched as Uncle Scrooge sunk in on himself. “You always did see everything.” The old duck murmured to himself.

Normally, such a compliment would have warmed Louie, made him blush and protest but ultimately leave him happy. Now, it felt like a bitter remark at his tendency to over think everything.

“We can still beat him.” Uncle Scrooge tried but Louie shook his head.

“I don’t think we can.”

“You can’t give up.”

Louie laughed bitterly. “I give up all the time, Uncle Scrooge. It’s just the way my brain works. It was only a matter of time before I gave up on this.”

“Louie…”

“No.” Louie pulled himself up from the ground. “Don’t touch me! You got us into this! If they’re dead, it’s your fault!”

Uncle Scrooge didn’t say anything but Louie felt no relief. He was just doing what he always did when he was scared. Lashing out at others so he felt that he had even the slightest bit of control.

“I’m sorry.” The wind nearly snatched the words from Uncle Scrooge’s beak. “I let children convince me they should face an evil mastermind. I’m so sorry.”

Louie couldn’t take it anymore. He turned and stumbled away through the snow. Maybe if he kept walking, he’d run in Huey or Dewey or Webby. He didn’t want to be alone. He couldn’t do this alone. But he couldn’t stay with Uncle Scrooge either.

As Louie ran through the storm, his webbed feet slipped out from under him and he fell. His glasses flew from his face and vanished as the already confusing world turned into a blurry mess. Louie froze instantly. Robbed of his sight, he was afraid to take another step. He knew there hadn’t been anything dangerous in front of him when he’d fallen but his body still wouldn’t move.

“Help!” He yelled, abandoning pride for safety. “I’m sorry, please, help me! I don’t know where I am. I can’t see!”

He risked taking a step forward, sinking slightly into the snow. The brief moment of falling had his breathing picking up as his heart jumpstarted into action.

Louie had never been more scared in his life.

Normally when he was this afraid, Huey and Dewey would comfort him. They’d bring him his favourite things and hug him close until he felt safe.

But that couldn’t happen this time. Because they were gone. Anonymous had taken them and now he was going to take Louie as well. They were going to lose out here on The Mountain, named because a group of people didn’t think the world existed outside their little circle.

And right now, nothing existed outside the blurriness that made up Louie’s world.

He took another step forward.

Then another.

Louie felt the ground cease to exist beneath him. He didn’t even have time to scream.

* * *

Scrooge McDuck was losing. Not just the game between him and Anonymous but he was also losing those he loved the most, just like he’d lost Della. He made the same mistake. He’d offered the kids something nobody would ever say no to, just like he’d offered Della the whole universe. And they’d taken what he’d offered, because nobody ever refused Scrooge McDuck. And now he was paying the price.

He pressed onward, because it was the only thing he could do. Maybe he could save them. He just had to reach Anonymous’ lair.

He walked and walked and walked but everything remained the same. The wind howled and the snow fell and everything was white.

Something felt wrong. Scrooge checked his pocket watch. Apparently they’d been on the mountain for eight hours. And yet he still hadn’t made it to the top. That was impossible. He should have been there by now. He’d been following his compass so he knew he was headed in the right direction.

Scrooge slowed to a stop. He stood there for as long as he dared, letting the wind do its best to knock him down and keep him there. He didn’t know was he was waiting for but he knew it would show up soon. Anonymous was an impatient man.

Sure enough, four figures rose from the snow to surrounded him. Scrooge tried not to flinch at the sight of his niece and nephews standing there, blank looks in their eyes. It looked like Anonymous was just using the same old powers after all.

“Why don’t you love me like you love them?” Webby accused.

“You couldn’t protect us.” Huey said softly.

“Mum left us because you let her.” Dewey sobbed.

“You led us here to die.” Louie spat. “Are you happy?”

“Never.”

Quick as he could, Scrooge rushed Louie. He just had to snap one of them out of it and he knew Louie was smart. He could break the control with some help from Scrooge. He reached out tired hands to grab Louie…only to fall right through him.

Louie…wasn’t there?

The world melted away around him. The snow vanished into nowhere and the wind died down abruptly. The oppressive whiteness of the bleak surroundings darkened into lush green. Suddenly, Scrooge wasn’t at the top of The Mountain anymore. He was at the bottom of it, in the forest in a clearing.

Around him were the four teenage ducks, each seemingly unaware of everything around them. They were caught up in things that only they thought were real. Webby was struggling against nothing, lashing out and screaming at someone that didn’t exist. Huey was standing dead still, shaking as he waited for something Scrooge couldn’t see. Dewey was on his knees, crying for somebody he would never meet because of Scrooge’s mistakes. Louie was spread out on the ground, seemingly unconscious or close to it.

Scrooge stared at the sight around him. “We never left even left the forest.”

He’d been wrong. Anonymous hadn’t harnessed his old controlling abilities. This was something entirely new, just like he’d said. He’d trapped them in a world of illusions, where nothing was real and yet it had all felt so. That explained the things nobody else could hear or see, the growing panic and fear. Anonymous had induced it all! One by one, he’d lured them away with something only they thought was real. He’d appealed to their weaknesses.

As Louie had said, Anonymous had had all the cards.

“How do I fix this?” Scrooge asked himself. He wasn’t expecting an answer, but he got one anyway.

“You don’t.”

A figure stepped out from behind a tree. They wore a cloak that masked their entire body, leaving them just how they liked to be seen.

Anonymous.

“As always, you manage to break through my spells.” The man sighed as if this whole ordeal was a terrible drain on him.

“I made breaking magic spells my business.” Scrooge replied.

“So you did.” Anonymous chuckled. “You did it to me before. But I think this time will be different.”

“And why is that?”

“You’re not going to win this time.” The man taunted. He withdrew an ornate staff from inside his cloak. 

Scrooge brandished his cane. “We never did agree on anything, did we.”

And in the midst of illusions, the two men lunged.


	2. Home Again

The fight had been fair, at first. The two men had exchanged blows from their respective weapons, neither able to land a hit until Scrooge had caught Anonymous under the chin with a well-aimed attack from his cane. Anonymous had never been all that good at physical attacks, preferring to fight dirty and from behind the scenes where nobody could reach him. It was always Scrooge who brought him out from the shadows to then promptly defeat.

Winded by the blow, Anonymous stumbled away. While they had been fighting, Scrooge’s niece and nephews had continued to be caught up in their illusions. Webby had continued to fight her invisible attacker, occasionally yelling incomprehensibly as she struggled. Huey had started to scream in pain as though he was being attacked. Dewey was still sobbing even as he backed away from something that was real only to him. And Louie remained on his back, motionless and for all appearances, dead. Anonymous ended up next to Louie. Scrooge didn’t need to see his face to know that it had just lit up triumphantly.

Scrooge may have had the upper hand in the fight but he knew it was about to change. Anonymous had the power here. He held power over some of the ducks Scrooge loved most in the entire world, more than himself. It wasn’t the complete control he used to wield but manipulating what somebody could see was a useful tool. In the kids eyes, Scrooge could become anyone.

He could become an enemy.

Anonymous bent down to where Louie was spread and whispered in the seemingly unconscious boy’s ear. A brief burst of light flashed from inside Anonymous’s cloak and then he backed away. 

Louie sat up.

Any relief Scrooge should have felt at the confirmation that his youngest nephew was alright was overpowered by the realisation of what Anonymous was doing. Just like Scrooge had suspected, Anonymous was going to use the kids to attack Scrooge. An illusion had been cast and Louie had fallen victim to it. 

Scrooge could only back away as Louie lunged. He was screaming, crying.

“Give me back my brothers! Give them back!”

It appeared Anonymous had created an illusion in which Scrooge (or whoever it was he was appearing as in Louie’s mind) had done something to Huey and Dewey. Scrooge was helpless to do anything but dodge. He would never lay a feather on any of his family, contrary to what some might believe. Anonymous had cleverly trapped Scrooge in a lose-lose situation. Scrooge had to reach Anonymous to stop Louie, but to reach Anonymous he had to somehow incapacitate Louie. 

Scrooge only had one option.

He talked.

“Louie, lad, listen to me. I haven’t done anything to your brothers. They’re here, they’re fine. You just can’t see them. You have to open your eyes. Look harder. You’re sharper than the sharpies. You can break through this. I know you can!”

Louie paused in his attack. Scrooge barely dared to breath. Had it worked? 

“Who’s talking?” He asked. “Uncle Scrooge? Where are you? Where are Huey and Dewey?”

Hope seized Scrooge tightly. It was working! 

“No!” Anonymous yelled from where he’d taken cover from the fight. His cloak flashed again and Louie seized up. He took a wobbly step and then fell. 

The blood in Scrooge’s veins turned ice cold as Louie started to scream in pain. 

“What are you doing?” He yelled.

“Surrender and I’ll make his pain stop.” Anonymous shrugged.

Scrooge growled. “The pain isn’t real.”

“It’s real enough for him.” Anonymous retorted. 

Scrooge couldn’t surrender. Surrendering would mean the end of everything. But he couldn’t leave Louie in such pain either. Even thinking about that sent shivers running up Scrooge’s spine. What could he do? What was there to do?

Shivering, Scrooge knelt down by Louie. His youngest nephew was rolling around, crying and screaming in pain. If he wasn’t careful, he was going to smash his glasses. As gently as he could, Scrooge reached out and removed them from Louie’s face. He set them aside and then reached out for Louie. Mindful of his flailing limbs, Scrooge captured Louie in a tight hug. He rocked him back and forth.

“Shhh, laddie. It’s not real. I’d never let anything hurt you. It isn’t real, Louie. I promise you, this isn’t real.”

Scrooge was hoping that by inserting himself into the illusion, things would start to not add up in Louie’s mind. When things didn’t add up, you started to question what was going on. Scrooge knew that Louie thought he was in a lot of pain, but he hoped that Louie could push through it and realise that something wasn’t right. If the only way to achieve this was to hug Louie and keep him safe, than Scrooge was more than happy to do it. 

“I promise that I’ll never let you feel this pain for real. I’m going to keep you and Huey and Dewey and Webby safe. I promise, Louie. I’m not going to make the same mistakes again.”

Louie scrunched up his eyes from the pain and continued to writhe and scream and cry. 

“It’s not going to work.” Anonymous said smugly.

“I always manage to break your magic.” Scrooge shot a glare at Anonymous. “Why should he be any different?”

“Because he’s not you.”

“No.” Scrooge agreed. “And that’s a good thing.”

Louie’s eyes snapped open. 

“My glasses.” He said instantly, voice shaky from screaming. Scrooge hastened to place the spectacles on his nephew's face.

“No…” Anonymous hissed. 

“What’s going on?” Louie stared up at Scrooge. “Why are you holding me? How did we get back in the forest? I was walking and then I fell. And then there was this thing. He killed Huey and Dewey.” Here, his voice cracked. “And then it hurt so much. What happened?”

Scrooge wanted nothing more than to hold Louie and tell him that everything was going to be alright. But there was no time for that. He could spot Anonymous out of the corner of his eye, readying himself for an attack. Webby, Huey and Dewey were still trapped in their illusions. Scrooge couldn’t fight Anonymous and break them free at the same time. He had to handle one while Louie handled the other.

It all but broke Scrooge’s heart to do so, but he let go of Louie and stood up slowly. 

“I have to fight Anonymous. Help the others, lad. I know you can.”

* * *

Louie still had no idea what was going on. A lot of things had happened and they didn’t make much sense but they had felt so real. Louie had never been more scared in his life, but he’d woken up in Uncle Scrooge’s arms and everything had felt a little better. Now Uncle Scrooge was lunging at a cloaked figure and Louie had to break his brothers and Webby out of some sort of spell that he had apparently been caught in as well.

The fact that Anonymous had control over illusions made sense. The things Louie had gone through couldn’t have been truly real. But that didn’t make them feel any less real.

Still, Louie had to help the others. For now, he had to forget about everything else and focus on doing just that.

Louie ran for Webby first. She was caught up in a fight with an invisible assailant. In any other situation, it might have been funny. But Louie had lived through the illusions. He knew it was anything but that.

Pausing, Louie listened for any sort of hint about the nightmare Webby was living through. He figured that would be the best way to break her out of it. If he could prove that what she was seeing wasn’t real, then she should wake up. 

“Why doesn’t anyone like me?” Webby sobbed. “Why am I on the outside? Why did Lena have to leave me?”

Louie shuddered. Webby’s worst fears were coming to life right in front of her. She was having to confront her belief that she would always end up alone. Her best friends were a set of triplets and a girl who had never really existed. How would that make someone feel? 

“Webby?” Louie called tentatively. “Webby, can you hear me?”

Webby paused in her fight, stumbling backwards and then falling to her knees. “Stop it. You don’t have to say it anymore. I know! I know I’ll always be alone! I know!”

“No!” Louie couldn’t help but yell. “Webby, that’s not true. You’re not alone. You have us! It doesn’t matter that we’re triplets. You’re one of us!”

“Who’s there?” Webby asked. “Who are you? Leave me alone. Stop taunting me!”

“I’m not.” Louie shook his head. “I’m here to help. Just like you always help us! We couldn’t do any of this without you, Webby. We need you, just like you need us. This doesn’t just go one way.”

“I’m so alone.” Webby whispered.

“No.” Louie braved stepping closer. He didn’t think Webby was going to attack him. To her, he was probably just another voice in her head. But he was going to be a good one. “You’re not alone, Webby. You’ve never been alone and you never will be. We’re not going anywhere.”

“You don’t need to show me my future. I already know it.” Webby held a protective hand in front of her face. 

“Nobody can just know a future for certain.” Louie crouched down in front of Webby. He knew she couldn’t really see him but he wanted to be close to her. “But I know one thing for sure. We’re a family. No one is ever going to make us doubt that ever again?”

“Lou...ie?”

“Yeah.” Louie felt a smile spread over his face. “Yeah, it’s me.”

* * *

The older version of Webby melted away into a smiling face she knew so well.

“Louie.” Webby said again. “What’s going on? What’s happening?”

“Anonymous can create illusions. He trapped us all in different ones. Uncle Scrooge got me out of mine.” Louie explained. He held out a hand and Webby took it without hesitation. Louie helped her to her feet and she looked around.

They were in the forest and not the icy peak of the mountain like she’d thought they were. Around her, different scenes played out. Uncle Scrooge fought a cloaked figure, cane against some sort of staff. Dewey was crying, hunched over himself and seemingly oblivious to what was happening around him. 

And Huey…

Huey was screaming. 

He was curled up in a ball, screaming. Whatever it was that was happening to him, he was just letting it happen. 

“We have to help him!” Webby grabbed hold of Louie’s hand again and dragged him over to Huey. Well, it wasn’t really dragging considering Louie was running just as fast as she was. 

Webby knew that she wasn’t in a good state of mind right now. What she’d seen, what she’d heard, it was enough to drive anyone crazy. But she also didn’t have the time to think about that. She could break down later in private, far away from concerned eyes. 

“What do we do?” They stopped at Huey and Webby abruptly realise that she had no idea how to help her friend. 

“We have to work out the illusion he’s trapped in.” Louie panted. “That’s how I helped you. I worked out what you thought you were seeing and convinced you it wasn’t true.”

“How did you do that?”

“I listened to what you were saying.”

“But Huey’s not saying anything.” Webby fretted. “He’s just screaming.”

_ And it’s horrible… _

“Maybe we can just ask him?” Louie suggested. Webby shot him a look. “It’s not like we have any other ideas.”

He was right. Webby didn’t have the slightest idea about what to do. The only thing they could do was try Louie’s suggestion.

She crouched down next to Huey, wincing as the screams became louder and started to talk. “Huey. Huey, can you hear me? I need you to tell me what’s wrong.”

Beside her, Louie did the same. “Huey? Hubert? Hall monitor?”

At the sound of the nickname, Huey’s scream broke off abruptly. 

“What’s happening?” Webby asked.

Huey answered as if in a daze. “There’s a monster. It’s eating me alive.”

Louie recoiled. Webby knew then and there that Louie couldn’t do this, didn’t know how to do this. She wasn’t going to let him go through this pain, not when it was hurting him so much. She pushed him aside, gently, and turned back to Huey. 

“Why?” She pressed on. “Why is it eating you alive?”

“I led it away from you guys. I saved you. Now I have to sacrifice myself for it. Maybe if I die, it won’t go after you all.”

Webby’s stomach churned. She was beginning to doubt that she could do this. It was horrifying, to stare down at someone so completely oblivious to your existence because they were trapped in their own personal nightmare. 

“Why are you just letting it eat you?” Webby stammered out. “Why aren’t you fighting it?”

“It’s too strong.” Huey stiffened. “And I’m not.”

“You’re plenty strong.” Webby argued. “You always know what to do.”

“I do. This is the only thing to do.”

“It’s not!” Webby yelled. “Sacrificing yourself is not the only thing to do, Huey! You can fight! You can run! You can find us and we’ll help! There’s nothing noble about  _ this  _ sacrifice. You’re giving up. There’s a difference.”

“But I’m scared.” Huey opened his eyes. They were glazed over. Behind her, Louie whimpered. 

“That’s why we’re here.” Webby reached out and took one of Huey’s hands. She gripped it tightly. “Huey, we love you. Dying for us is not a good thing to do. There are other ways to protect us. Keep fighting, Huey. Huey, you can do it. Snap out of it! Huey, snap out of it!”

Huey sat bolt upright. His chest rose and fell as he sucked in air. The glazed look in his eyes had disappeared. 

“Where are we?” He said hoarsely. 

Webby couldn’t help but throw her arms around him. “We’re safe.”

* * *

Huey was seconds away from a meltdown. His entire body was shaking and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t wrap his head around what was going on. He was so sure what he’d been seeing was real and finding out it wasn’t was a very bad feeling. He couldn’t quite explain it. But if climbing the mountain and being attacked by the monster wasn’t real, then what else wasn’t? What if his entire existence was fake?

“Huey.” Louie had joined in on the hug moments after Webby had instigated it. “Huey, there isn’t time for this. I know it’s scary and it’s bad. Believe me, I’m so scared. But we have to help Dewey.”

That snapped Huey from his hysterical state. Dewey was in trouble. One of his younger brothers was in trouble and this time, Huey could do something about it. 

“So everything’s an illusion.” Huey mused out loud. Doing so cleared his head a little. 

“Not anymore.” Webby said firmly. “We’ve broken out of it. This is real.”

“How can you tell?” Huey asked seriously.

This made both Webby and Louie pause. 

“We just can.” Louie said finally. “I can think clearer now. And Anonymous is fighting Scrooge. Why would he make that an illusion. We broke you out of an illusion. Why would that be our illusion? It’s too confusing to even think about. This is definitely real. Don’t get caught up in your head, Huey. You’re safe now. We have to help Dewey.”

“Right.” Huey nodded. He was back on track. Dewey. They had to help Dewey.

Dewey was huddled in the far corner of the clearing. He was crying, rocking back and forth as he pleaded for somebody to come back, to not hurt him, to keep him safe.

Anonymous (because who else could the cloaked figure be) and Uncle Scrooge were fighting in the middle of the clearing but Huey barely spared them a second glance as he ran over to Dewey. Webby and Louie were close on his heels. Huey fell to his knees beside Dewey and drew his baby brother into his arms. Dewey didn’t even seem to notice him. It was like Huey didn’t exist to him anymore.

“How do we snap him out of it?” Huey asked frantically. “How did you help me? I don’t even remember.”

“We found a way to make your illusion seem fake. We talked you out of it by convincing you that what you were doing wasn’t right.” Webby explained in a rush. 

“I’m holding him.” Huey gripped Dewey tighter. “Why isn’t that enough?”

“I don’t know.” Webby threw her hands up, exasperated. “I just woke up myself.”

“I don’t know either.” Louie shrugged. “But we have to talk to him.”

“Mum…” Dewey sobbed.

All three ducks froze. 

Dewey was dreaming about Della Duck. 

Louie instantly panicked. “He’s not going to want to come back. If mum’s there, then he’s not going to come back to us. He loves mum so much. He wants her to come home. He wants to stay with her, he doesn’t want us.”

“That’s not true.” Huey argued. Still, a sliver of doubt seized him. Was Louie right? Would Dewey rather stay in a false world where he had mum? 

“Don’t give up on him!” Webby cried. “Of course he wants to come back to you!”

Huey tuned them out. He couldn’t get caught up in all these doubts. The ‘what-ifs’ were dangerous traps that would only stop him from helping Dewey properly.

“Can you hear me?” He whispered to Dewey. “I think you can. I think part of you knows this world isn’t real. But I also think that part of you is too afraid to admit that. Because you want mum to be real. You want her to be alive and you want her to be here, with us.”

In Huey’s arms, Dewey tensed just a little. Someone else might have missed such a small movement but Huey was looking for it. He was getting through to Dewey!

“Dewey, I know you want mum back. We all do. But this isn’t the right way for that to happen. The world you’re in, it’s fake. You can’t just let that go because you have mum. It’s a fake mum in a fake world but you’re real, Dewey. You don’t belong there.”

“No…” Dewey mumbled. Huey’s heart sank. Was Dewey rejecting him?

“Dewey, please!” Huey yelled. “Everything is so hard but it’ll be harder without you. You can’t just give in to this. Anonymous is trying to keep you away from us. He knows that the five of us are stronger than he’ll ever be. That’s why he’s doing this! You’re strong, Dewey! You can beat this. I know you can. Prove me right, okay? Just for once, let me be right.”

“Huey…” Louie rested a hand on his shoulder. Webby did the same on the opposite one. Together, the three of them stood there, a protective group around Dewey as he fought his demons on his own.

“I wish I could see what you see.” Huey pressed his forehead against Dewey’s. “Then maybe, I’d understand. I don’t understand, Dewey. Why won’t you come back to us?”

“Mum…” Dewey said once more. 

“I know.” Huey pulled Dewey into him and rocked him back and forth. “You know, we haven’t done this in a long time. Not since we were kids and you had nightmares about Uncle Donald leaving us. I would come down to your bunk and I’d hold you and tell you a dumb story until you felt better. You’d realise it was all a dream and that there was nothing to be afraid of. That’s exactly what’s happening now. It’s just a bad dream, and there’s nothing to be afraid of. We’re not going to judge you for wanting to stay. But you have to come back to us. We’re real, right here, right now.”

“Huey?”

“Yeah!” Huey could have cried tears of happiness. “Yeah, it’s me! We’re all here. Louie and Webby and me.”

“I want mum.” Dewey croaked.

“I know. But you don’t have to look for her in a dream world. She’s out here, in this one. And so are we.”

“Huey…” Dewey repeated. “I’m sorry. I’m back.”

“Yeah.” Huey sat back to leave room for Webby and Louie to rush in. “I’m glad.”

“Me too.”

* * *

Dewey was unhinged.

Mum had been there but it hadn’t been her but he hadn’t cared, because at least she was holding him. 

Huey had shaken him out of it, but Dewey couldn’t help but wonder if he would’ve chosen to stay if Huey hadn’t. He’d been so close to doing it, but Huey’s words had cut through it. Dewey was back in the real world but Della Duck was still in space, possibly dead. He’d only had her for what felt like a few minutes. It wasn’t long enough, not after thirteen long years without her. 

“Dewey, I know it’s hard, but we need you with us.” Huey’s words brought him back, like they had before.

“It was mum.” Dewey said helplessly. He didn’t know what else to say. 

“It wasn’t.” Louie rubbed his arm nervously. “It wasn’t real.”

“But I wanted it to be!” Dewey burst out. “I wanted it to be her! I didn’t care that it was an illusion.”

“We don’t have time for this.” Webby said regretfully. “We have to help Uncle Scrooge.”

Dewey looked over to see Uncle Scrooge locked in a fight with a hooded figure. 

“Anonymous, I take it.” Dewey blinked. 

“What gave it away?” Louie asked dryly. 

“What can we do?” Dewey winced as Anonymous landed a lucky hit on Uncle Scrooge’s shin. “How do we overpower him?”

“Dogpile.” Webby jumped up and down. 

“Huh?

“Let’s just tackle him.” Webby smacked her fist into her open palm. “Knock him out, find out what’s causing the illusions and break it.”

“Okay.” Dewey shrugged. “Let’s go for it.”

“What?” Huey spluttered. “There’s too many variables, too many things could go wrong.”

“What if he traps us again?” Louie asked quietly. “He...he trapped me in three different ones. And each one was worse than the next. I don’t want to deal with it again.”

Dewey risked a glance over at Louie. He looked shaken, barely holding it together. His eyes were wide behind his glasses, as they were want to do when Louie was afraid. Apparently he was the one to break the illusions after Uncle Scrooge. Even so, he was a complete wreck. Dewey knew exactly how he felt, but the need to protect Louie was starting to push aside his fears. It was like an override of sorts. It would certainly fade once the imminent danger was handled, but for now, Dewey was glad for the extra boost of courage. 

“We can take him.” Dewey wrapped an arm around Louie and the other round Huey. He took Webby’s hand with the arm hanging over Louie. “I know we can.”

Together, all four ducks looked over at Uncle Scrooge and Anonymous. Uncle Scrooge clearly had the upper hand but it was close. And Anonymous could launch an illusion attack at any moment. If they wanted to win this, then they had to take action. 

“On three.” Huey sighed. “If we are doing this.”

“We are.” Webby confirmed. “One.”

“Two.” Louie joined in reluctantly. 

“Three!” Dewey yelled.

They pounced.

* * *

Webby’s fist made contact with Anonymous’s head. Huey’s knee ended up in his stomach, Louie jabbed fingers into whatever he could make contact with and Dewey pummeled whatever he could get his hands on. Scrooge fell back, panting in surprise.

“Kids!” He yelled. “What are you doing?”

“Helping you.” Dewey duck a flailing fist and returned a blow that hit its mark. 

“You’re welcome.” Webby chipped in, punching Anonymous’s head again. “Oh, I think he’s down for the count.

Huey and Louie were quick to retreat when they heard that. Huey wrapped a protective arm around Louie and they stumbled over to Scrooge. Webby whacked Anonymous a few more times for good measure while Dewey started to rummage through the robe, looking for the source of the power.

“Be careful.” Scrooge lent heavily on his cane. “He’s been meddling with dangerous magic. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Too late for that.” Dewey muttered. Scrooge winced.

“I’m sorry-”

“Apologise!” Webby cut Scrooge off. “It’s not his fault. You begged him to come. We all did.”

“I didn’t.” Louie called. 

“And you’re never going to let us forget that.” Huey laughed weakly. 

“I know.” Dewey grumbled. “But please, don’t remind me. I know this is my fault-”

“It’s not!” Webby interrupted. “We all begged to come, and Uncle Scrooge let us, but it’s nobody’s fault but Anonymous’s. Please...let’s agree it was.”

Scrooge realised with a start that they were all blaming themselves, and that Webby realised this. She wanted them to all focus their blame on Anonymous so it woudn’t be another thing that would haunt them about this adventure. She needed it as much as they all did. They all needed to not blame themselves.

They had enough things to recover from.

“I’ve got something.” Dewey pulled an amulet from the fold’s of Anonymous’s cloak. It was a mirror image to the old one that Scrooge had broken so many years ago. 

“I’ll destroy it.” Scrooge held a hand out for it. Dewey gave it to him without a complaint which was surprising. Dewey had been trapped in an illusion with his mother. Surely he would want to try and replicate it again, but better. 

“Please do.” Dewey mumbled. “Before I do something I’ll regret.”

Ah, so he was considering it. 

Scrooge set the amulet on the ground. For a moment, the five ducks stared at it. It seemed silly to think that such a small thing had caused such great disaster.

“Do it.” Louie’s voice was thick with unshed tears.

“Please.” Webby begged.

“Before…” Dewey trailed off.

“Now.” Huey said forcefully. 

Scrooge brought the cane down and it shattered.

 

**One Week Later**

 

It was a week since the events that had happened on The Mountain. Anonymous had been sent back off to jail and a worldwide disaster had been prevented by Scrooge McDuck and family. The papers had gobbled up the story but the daily reminder about what they’d been through was something none of the family could handle. Mrs Beakley made sure to destroy any and all papers that arrived on their front doorstep. 

Uncle Donald would not let any of the kids out of his sight. He followed them from room to room, dashing to oblige even the smallest request. It was nice at first, if slightly smothering. But soon it became annoying. Uncle Donald wanted to know just what had happened up there, and none of them were ready to talk about it. Eventually, they barricaded themselves in the triplet’s room.

“I’m just not ready to tell him what happened.” Huey said over a crossword he was absently filling out. “Seven down, feeling of hopelessness. Last letter is r.”

“Despair.” Louie muttered. He was hiding under the blankets on his bed, nothing more than a shapeless lump to his brothers and Webby.

Huey set his pen down. “I’ll finish it later.”

“I know you don’t want to talk to Donald about it.” Webby set aside the dagger she was sharpening. “But can we all talk about it? Please? I’ve just got it sitting in my head and there’s not outlet. It’s killing me.”

“I don’t know.” Dewey was on the very top bunk, dangling his feet over aimlessly. Small clicks alerted the others that he was using his fidget cube. “There’s so many things I don’t even know how to start talking about.”

“I can start then.” Webby begged. “Please. I need this. And I think you guys need it too.”

“If we’re doing this, we’re doing it right.” Huey declared. He started dragging blankets and pillows onto the floor. “Sleepover style.” 

Louie groaned but he let Huey help him onto a pile of pillows without complaint. Webby flopped down and patted the spot next to her for Dewey to leap onto to. Huey settled in after grabbing a few more pillows and tucked one under his chin. For a moment, the four of them sat there silently. They knew what they were about to tackle was huge, but Webby was right.

It had to be done.

“I saw an older version of myself.” Webby started abruptly. “At first, she was just some woman crying for help. And I hated the idea of leaving someone in trouble so I went to find her. I thought you guys were just pretending to not hear her and I got angry. When I’m angry, I don’t act rationally. I found her and hen I realised she was me. It was like staring into a mirror only it was the future. She said that she was lonely and scared because she had no friends. She said that she was left out, that you guys didn’t love me, that Lena left me and I’d never have anyone ever again. She was my future. I tried to fight her but it was no use. I knew that I’d always be alone and left out. Because she was, and she was me.”

“Webby…” Huey said quietly. “You know we’d never leave you.”

“I did know that.” Webby fiddled anxiously with her necklace. “At least, I thought I did. But for some reason, I couldn’t remember it. When I was facing her down, I forgot about everything we’d been through. All I saw was what I thought I was going to become and it was terrifying. She brought up Lena and it hurt so much. Losing Lena is the worst thing that’s ever happened to me. She made it seem like Lena wanted to leave me. I did try to fight her but she overpowered me. I thought that meant she had to be right.”

“That’s horrible.” Huey murmured.

“Tell me about it.”

“How did you break free?” Dewey asked. 

“Louie got through to me.” Webby smiled softly at said triplet. “It took a while. But I started to realise what he was telling me was true.”

“It still is.” Louie said. “We’re a family, Webby. What you went through was really scary but it won’t happen again. Because that’s what family do. They look out for each other.”

“I didn’t even stop to question it.” Webby curled in on herself. “What kind of family am I if I question us when it matters most?”

“You couldn’t help that.” Huey protested. “Anonymous knew just how to target us. We all had doubts, Webby. You don’t need to hate yourself for having any.”

“But I do.” Webby sniffed. 

“It’s natural.” Dewey looked up from his cube. “I doubt myself like, all the time. But the important thing is learning that those doubts aren’t real. That’s why we’re here. To prove your doubts wrong. Louie was right. We are a family. Anonymous was wrong to target you by making you think we didn’t love you. Because that’s so fake it’s almost funny.”

“Yeah?” Webby looked at Dewey.

“Yeah.”

“Okay.” Webby took a deep breath. “I can’t promise you I won’t have any more nightmares about this, or keep thinking about it a lot, because it was seriously scary, but I can promise you guys that I’ll always be there for you, just like you’re going to be there for me.”

“We’ll take those nightmares down with extra strong cuddles.” Dewey nodded seriously. “Family makes everything better.

“Yeah.” Webby snuggled into her blankets. “They certainly do.” The thought of her and the triplets taking down anything that dared face them was comforting. 

“Okay?” Louie asked.

“For now.” Webby smiled. “Thanks, guys.” She knew that things would take a while before she felt normal again. But this was a step and it was in the right direction. She knew that talking about it was a good idea. She just had to convince the others that it was. 

“So…” Dewey pressed a few buttons absently. “Who’s next?”

There was dead silence as none of the brothers offered to go. Each looked away, stubbornly staying quiet. 

“I can…” Huey said finally. In all honesty, he was only offering so that neither of his younger brothers had to.

“What did you see?” Webby asked gently.

“I didn’t see anything at first.” Huey took his hat off and twisted it in his grip. “Things just felt weird. I couldn’t trust anybody. I forgot who everyone was. Nothing was right. I hate it when things don’t feel right. I thought I was going crazy, that I’d finally lost the plot like everyone said I was going to do, because that’s what people like me do. Go crazy. And then there was this monster. It just...appeared. I knew I couldn’t let it hurt you guys so I lead it away. I ran until I realised that I’d done enough. I’d kept you safe. So I stopped and waited for it to eat me...and then it did. Until Webby got me out of it.”

“Oh…” Louie covered his beak with one of his hands. “That’s…”

“Awful? Traumatizing? My worst nightmare?” Huey listed. 

“Yeah…”

“I was so ready to die for you guys.” Huey twisted his hat tighter. “I figured that maybe, if I was going insane, then I was better off dead.”

“No way!” Dewey yelled. “That’s not true! You’re not crazy and you’ll never be better off dead.”

Huey jumped, startled at the outburst. “Well, I know that now. But in the illusion, I didn’t Anonymous presented me with a situation that I was so certain I knew the way out of. But I was wrong, so that’s another things that’s messing with me. Maybe I’m just wrong all the time. Maybe I can’t fix everything.”

“Nobody can fix everything.” Webby offered.

“I know that.” Huey finally released his grip on his hat. “I thought I’d made peace with that. Now I feel like I can’t fix anything. I thought I was dying and I did nothing. I didn’t think living was worth it. I was going to leave you guys.” His voice broke and he fell silent.

“But it wasn’t real. Anonymous just made you think that was your only option. He knew how to mess with you and he did it well. If that was a real thing, you’d never do that.” Dewey argued.

“But I’ll never know that.” Huey slammed a hand down, frustrated. “Because it wasn’t real. Do you have any idea what that feels like to me? Having lived through something that wasn’t real? Was it me? Or wasn’t it? There’s too many variables, too many things I can’t answer. It’s driving me mad!”

“The Huey I know would never die for someone. He’d live for them.” Louie mumbled. “I believe in that Huey.”

“Me too.” Dewey chimed in.

“And me.” Webby finished.

“I know you like to know yourself.” Louie rested his head on Huey’s shoulder. “And you do. “But we know you as well and sometimes you just have to trust us. You don’t have to worry about these things. They weren’t real, so you couldn’t react in the way you normally would. Anonymous took over your brain. He contaminated the experiment, if that makes sense.”

“You’re saying that I was made to act the way I did?” Huey asked.

“Yeah, I think so.”

Huey took a moment to think about it. Like Webby had said, talking about this wasn’t going to just make everything better. But hearing from the people he was closest to did make him feel safer, and more sure of himself. He was sure that it would help him in the days to come when the fears resurfaced. 

“I think I want to stop talking about it now.” He said finally. “But thanks. I do feel a little...more okay then I did before.”

“Good.” Louie said firmly. 

Huey rested his head on Louie’s head, ignoring the fact that Louie’s glasses dug into his face. His youngest brother was right. It was good. Not great. But good.

“I guess if you guys can do it, I can.” Louie pulled away from Huey to sit up straighter. “But...it’s not nice stuff. I went through three different visions. They were horrible.”

“Tell us.” Webby urged. “We can help, just like you helped us.”

Louie looked down at his hands. He curled them over gently, and then looked back up.

“Okay. In my first one, I was alone. Nothing happened at first, because my worst nightmare had already happened. You three were gone and it was just me. I ran away from Uncle Scrooge and fell. I lost my glasses and ended up falling off a cliff. I thought I’d died.” Louie paused for breath. “Then Anonymous used me to fight Uncle Scrooge. He made me think Uncle Scrooge was a murdered who had killed Huey and Dewey. When Uncle Scrooge nearly snapped me out of it, he made me think I was being tortured. The pain was unbearable. I wanted the first vision to be real. I wanted to die. But...I guess that’s ordinary.”

“Louie, I…” Webby trailed off.

“That was probably what helped me snap out of it first.” Louie laughed bitterly. “The second two visions couldn’t be real if the first one was. Then Uncle Scrooge got to me. I woke up and I had no time to process what had happened. I had to help you guys. I...I know I should be okay but I’m not. You guys don’t even know how much it hurt. All three of them...I see them when I sleep. They won’t leave me alone. And I don’t think we can just fix this with words.”

“Of course not.” Huey said softly. “Not all problems can be fixed with just words. But it’s important to talk about things. That’s always the first step.”

“There, first step taken.” Louie said flatly. 

“And now we can try to help, even if it’s just a bit. Like you did for me and Huey.” Webby reached over the pile of pillows and blankets to poke Louie gently. 

“I don’t have any big hangups over what I saw. It was just traumatising.” Louie sighed. “How are the four of us supposed to fix that?”

“We don’t.” Dewey said suddenly.

“Huh?” Huey shot him a lot. 

“This is the sort of stuff therapist’s deal with.” Dewey shrugged. “Louie should talk about it with his therapist. Meanwhile, we just be there for him.”

“I’m right here.” Louie drawled.

“Right.” Dewey looked over at Louie. “We’ll just be there for you.”

“Yeah.” Webby was getting it. “We’ll hug you when you’re scared and wake you up from nightmares.”

“We’ll make sure you’re never alone.” Huey joined in. “We’ll distract you with things you like. Just like we do when you’re having one of your bad days.”

“All you have to do is talk about what you went through with your therapist. She’s a trained professional.” Dewey announciated the word. “She’ll know what to do.”

“Guess she’s pretty good at her job.” Louie admitted. 

“And we’re good at our job.” Huey pulled Louie close to him. “Keeping you safe and happy and making sure you’re never alone.”

“It won’t always help.” Louie muttered. “You guys don’t always have to put up with my shit.”

“We’re not putting up with anything. We love you, Louie. We’re always going to be here for you. Thank you for being there for us. We would never have won without you.” Dewey said seriously.

“You snapped me out of my illusion.” Webby reached out her hand again, and this time Louie took it. “You were so brave, Louie.”

“Thank you.” Louie blinked back tears. “That helps, I think. Knowing what I went through wasn’t for nothing.”

“Then we’ll keep saying it.” Huey ruffled Louie’s feathers. “For as long as it takes.”

“Okay.” Louie let his eyes slip shut briefly. It was nice to be alive, and to be held. His brothers and Webby always knew just what to do.

Louie knew things were not going to be good for him for a long time. But now he knew he didn’t have to do it alone.

“Guess I’m lucky last.” Dewey didn’t look up as he said this, choosing instead to concentrate intensely on his fidget cube. 

Webby, Huey and Louie exchanged worried glances. Dewey had already shared a little of his experience, just after Huey had snapped him out of it. They had a vague idea of what Dewey was thinking and feeling, and they also knew that Dewey was not keen to relive his illusion, but for different reasons to theirs.

Webby had been afraid to relive the moments of doubt she had.

Huey had been terrified of feeling like he had when he was in the illusion.

Louie had been traumatised by what he’d lived through and hadn’t wanted to re-awaken any of the worst moments.

Dewey didn’t want to talk about it, because he’d almost liked the illusion.

“I’m sorry.” Dewey whispered. He was sort of intending the words to go unsaid, but of course the other three ducks picked up on it.

“Huh?!”

“What for?”

“Why?”

“I betrayed you guys.” Each word was a dagger in Dewey’s heart but he kept talking. “Or at least, I came as close to it as I possibly could. I wanted to stay with mum and I nearly gave you guys up for the chance. I knew she wasn’t real. When she hugged me, I realised it wasn’t mum. It was like hugging a dead body. But I didn’t care! I didn’t care because I saw her and she was real, just for a moment. I’m a monster!”

“No.” Webby hastened to say. “Dewey, you’re not a monster. It’s like we keep saying, Anonymous knew how to play us. He targeted our weaknesses. It’s not your fault what he gave you was so tempting. That’s what he wanted!”

“Who cares about that?!” Dewey yelled. “I still heard Huey, when he was trying to snap me out of it. I heard him and I hesitated. That was all me.”

“I think we all would have, if we’d seen mum.” Louie said quietly. “She’s our mum, Dewey. I wouldn’t expect you to react any other way.”

“But we’ve always said we’re in this together.” Dewey buried his head in his hands. “I betrayed that. I let you guys go.”

“You didn’t.” Huey said firmly. “Because you snapped out of it and you helped us. You took down Anonymous and you proved that you were strong by giving the amulet to Uncle Scrooge. You overcame yourself.”

“I nearly didn’t.” Dewey admitted. “I nearly kept the amulet. I nearly trapped us all in an illusion where mum came home.”

“Why didn’t you?” Louie asked.

“Because...because it wouldn’t be right!”

“Exactly.” Webby took Dewey’s face between her hands and lifted it up as gently as she could. “You realised that you couldn’t choose an illusion over real life, or make that choice for anyone else. You did the right thing. It doesn’t matter that you hesitated. Anonymous forced those circumstances on you and you still overpowered him. That’s what matters.”

“Is it?”

“Yes!” Huey cried. “Of course it is. Dewey, you can’t blame yourself for being tempted by your illusion. It was only natural. None of us blame you, so you shouldn’t either. You should be proud, because your overcame a man who once ruled the world. You’re so strong Dewey.”

“You fought him and you won.” Louie muttered. “That’s what you should focus on.”

“My brain doesn’t like it when I focus on things.” Dewey pointed out. “But...yeah. I can try.”

“That’s all we can ask.” Huey reached out for Dewey. “I’m really proud of you.”

“Thanks you coming back to us.” Louie whispered.

“I’m really glad we’re family.” Webby smiled as wide as she could.

Dewey, just like the other three, would not get better right away. Like he’d said, it was hard for him to focus on things. He knew he would spend a lot of long nights regretting things like letting go of Louie’s hand, and hesitating when Huey had called for him. 

But his family had forgiven them, and that counted for something.

As naturally as most people breathe, the four ducks fell together into a hug.

They didn’t let go for a long time.

* * *

Standing outside the door to the triplet’s room, Donald bowed his head. He hadn’t meant to listen in but he couldn’t help it. Those were his kids and it had killed him, not knowing what had happened to them. He wanted nothing more then to run in their and hug them but that would be a betrayal of trust. He would have to wait for them to come to him in their own time.

The familiar ‘tap, tap’ of a cane drew Donald’s attention to the end of the corridor where Uncle Scrooge stood.

“Do you blame me?” The man asked, strangely timid considering his usual gruff personality.

“Yes...no...maybe.” Donald sighed. “It’s all too hard to know what I think.”

“I’d understand if you do. They’re not going to be okay, not for a long time.” Uncle Scrooge’s voice cracked. “I held Louie in my arms, and he was screaming. And Huey, letting himself die for the others...Dewey, wanting his mum. He can’t have her because of something I did. And Webby...isolated because her gran worked for me.”

“Uncle Scrooge.” Donald interrupted. “I know the kids aren’t alright, but are you?”

Uncle Scrooge’s eyes widened in shock. “I….uh...don’t ask those kinds of questions.”

“So that’s a no.” Donald deadpanned.

“It’s none of your business if I’m alright or not.” Uncle Scrooge snapped.

“It kind of is.” Donald took a step forward with an idea on his mind. If it had worked for the kids, then it might work for them. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Scrooge hesitated, and then nodded to Donald’s relief. “That would be nice.”

It was a day of healing for all in McDuck Manor. 

Things would be hard for a long time. Webby would wake from nightmares with a start and run to the boy’s room, just to make sure they were still with her and hadn’t vanished into the night, leaving her behind. Huey would become confused, struggling to separate fiction from reality and end up breaking down from how panicked it made him. Louie would spend countless hours at therapy and still come home traumatised and silent, too afraid of what he’d been through to even dare sleeping. Dewey would think of his mum, and cry and cry because he knew he’d made the right choice, but it sometimes felt like he’d betrayed Della as well as his family. Scrooge would roam the corridors at night, making sure they were all safe. 

So yes, things weren’t better.

But they were getting there.

They’d faced Anonymous and they were getting better, recovering, working through it all. 

They were winning. 

Not yet.

But soon.

Together.

_ Fearing, you climbed the mountain.  _

_ Fearing, you faced its dangers.  _

_ And fearing, you went on.  _

_ That is real bravery... _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second and last chapter!!!!! I'm posting this from Thai Land where me and my fam are having a holiday. Please leave comments and kudos if you liked this. Any quotes are from Rowan of Rin by Emily Rodda

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave comments and kudos if you liked this! Still can't believe I've written over 10 thousand words for Ducktales
> 
> Find me on tumblr at ToshiTophChan if you ever want to talk Ducktales (it's seriously all I want to do these days)


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